Rutgers News Writing Course Covers Journalism Fundamentals

School of Communication and Information
NEWS REPORTING AND WRITING (Skills Course)
04:567:324, section 04 / Spring 2015
Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Room 114A, SC&I, 4 Huntington Ave., College Ave. Campus
Professor Carmen Cusido
Email: carmenec@scarletmail.rutgers.edu and
cec2147@caa.columbia.edu
Office hours: By appointment, immediately before or after class
Class description
Fundamentals of gathering information and journalistic writing: Students will learn the
fundamentals of gathering information, including news writing and reporting techniques,
writing in journalistic style, fact gathering, observation, freedom of information and
ethics.
Sakai
Course materials will be available in Sakai (under Resources). Your course title is
04:567:324:04 News Rptg & Wrtg Sp15. You need access to Sakai in order to do work
in the course, as well as submit your work to the Assignment 2 dropbox and view the
Gradebook (Gradebook2). Log into and become familiar with this system during the first
week of class.
Use the following URL to log into Sakai: http://sakai.rutgers.edu. Enter your Net ID (the
first part of your Rutgers email address (before the @ sign) and Net ID Password.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, students will:
 Have developed their news judgment and be able to explain what makes a good news
story and why;
 Be able to identify their audience and tailor their research and writing to their readers;
 Understand and be able to explain the different kinds of news stories;
 Write effective ledes, correctly choose and integrate quotations and generally organize
their stories in a coherent manner;
 Understand the basic ethics of the trade and be able to critique their behavior and the
behavior of others according to these guidelines;
 Respond effectively to editorial feedback from peers, instructors.

Instructor Biography
I work in the communications department at the Wildlife Conservation Society. My
responsibilities include translating messaging from English to Spanish; developing op eds
and letters-to-the-editor with WCS conservationists in English and Spanish (and getting
them placed in top media outlets like CNN, El Diario/La Prensa and National
Geographic); and working on writing and editing the content for the annual report. I also
currently blog for The Huffington Post and am a freelance writer
(my op-ed on the U.S. embargo on Cuba was published on CNN in December 2014 and
prompted interviews with ABC News and other outlets).
Before WCS, I worked as a reporter for The Charlotte Observer. During the Democratic
National Convention in 2012, I reported on North Carolina's first transgender delegate,
how local candidates benefit from national conventions and how young voters were less
excited than other age groups during the upcoming election.
My longest journalism job was as a full-time reporter at The Times of Trenton for four
years. I was an award-winning education reporter there, but also covered county
government, religion and immigration while simultaneously earning her Master's degree
in journalism from Columbia University. I received my bachelor’s degree in journalism
from Rutgers University.
I’ve also written for DiversityInc magazine, the Home News Tribune, The Star-Ledger,
New Jersey Monthly, Rutgers magazine and at The Jersey Journal, among others.

04:567:324, section 04 / Spring 2015
Texts
Required:
The Missouri Group. News Reporting and Writing, Tenth
Edition. 2011: New York. Bedford/St. Martin’s. ISBN-
13: 978-0-312-61811-7
AP Stylebook, spiral-bound or online subscription
(http://www.apstylebook.com/) -- we will discuss in class.
Other reading/listening/viewing:
From time to time, class discussions and assignments may be
drawn from the following: Nieman Lab: The Digest;
The Star-Ledger/NJ.com; The Record (northjersey.com); The New York Times; New
York Daily News; The Washington Post; NJ Spotlight; New Brunswick Patch
(newbrunswick.patch.com); WNYC Radio’s weekly On the Media show
(http://www.onthemedia.org/ ); other daily and weekly print and online
publications.
Specific additional readings will be posted to class Sakai page.
Class rules
The class will function as a newsroom and, as such, each student is expected to:
 Be on time;
 Be professional and respectful to classmates and the professor;
 Unless otherwise noted, all written assignments, group projects, etc., are due at the
time and date listed in the syllabus. If you experience an unavoidable personal
situation that prevents you from completing work on time, please inform the instructor
prior to the date the work is due. Late work will result in points taken off, a lowering
of the assignment grade, and/or an “F” depending on the assignment;
 Participate in class discussions;
 Always bring a notebook and pen;
 Be prepared to go out on assignment.
 Students are not allowed to have food in the classroom, however, you will have a 20-
minute lunch break to eat outside room 114A
 As with any functioning news operation, I reserve the right to alter the syllabus and
schedule as needed.
Students will keep their cell phones on silent for the duration of the class. Classroom
computers will not be used to check email, Facebook or other Web sites unless it is
necessary for the assignment on which they are working.

04:567:324, section 04 / Spring 2015
Grading criteria
A 90%-100%
B+ 86%-89.9%
B 80%-85.9%
C+ 76%-79.9%
C 70%-75.9%
D 60%-69.9%
F below 60%
The overall grade will be based on the following:
40% -- Final group project. The project will require students to work as a team,
developing a general assignment into specific stories. Each team member will be
responsible for developing and writing a story and editing copy. Individual team
members will have assigned tasks: acting as team captain, tracking overall
progress; working as assignment editor and managing story progress; working as
chief copy editor, assigning copy editing duties; managing a social media plan;
managing a photo and video plan. You will be graded on your story, your editing
skills and your use of social media and photos/videos.
40% -- Regular writing assignments: There will be five assignments:
1. What is News? 12.5%
2. Police story 12.5%
3a. Municipal meeting draft 12.5%
3b. Municipal meeting final story 12.5%
4. Arts story 25%
5. Reporter’s Choice Issue story 25%
10% -- Editing: Students will be assigned four graded editing assignments. The lowest
grade will be dropped.
10% -- In-class work and participation. There are four individual quizzes/group
assignments of equal weight, with the potential for others, as required. You will
also be graded on your participation, which includes attendance, class discussions
and ungraded group work, punctuality and professionalism.
 Up to a total of two points extra credit may be awarded for:
o Leading the weekly “What’s the latest news?” discussion. These can be good
examples of an inverted pyramid or narrative lede, good use of quotations,
discussion of ethical issues. To qualify, students need to provide hard copy or link

to story to professor in advance for distribution to class and then student will lead
discussion of story.
o Publication of class assignment in a local paper, professional website, and/or The
Daily Targum.
o Other extra credit may be available.
 Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If a student plagiarizes, he or she will receive an F in
the course and will be referred to the dean’s office.
 You will have an opportunity to appeal a grade on an assignment within a week of
receiving it. You must notify me in writing.
Assignments will be judged on the following:
 Accuracy: Spelling, grammar, factual accuracy, logical holes/unanswered questions.
 Adherence to deadline: Lateness will result in the reduction of the overall grade.
 Assignment: Did the student carry out the assignment as directed? When presented
with potential problems, did the student discuss them with assigning editor (professor)
and work out a solution?
 Audience: Is the story – use of language, choice of information – directed at the proper
audience?
 Lede writing: Is it appropriate to the story? Is it creative? Will it draw in readers?
 News judgment: Does the story highlight the most newsworthy elements?
 Structural integrity: Is the news story organized properly to ensure clarity?
 Creativity and readability
 See attached grading rubric.

04:567:324, section 04 / Spring 2015
Skill set Explanation Max Pts. Comments
Lede writing
Is it appropriate to the story? Is
it creative? Will it draw in
readers? 15
Nut graph
Is there a nut graph? Does it
provide context and direction to
the story? 15
Structural
integrity
Is the news story organized
properly to ensure clarity? 15
Storytelling
Does the story use an
appropriate storytelling
technique? Is it readable and
interesting? 10
Use of
quotations
Does the story use enough
direct quotation? Are quotations
properly integrated? Are they
attributed properly? 15
Sources
Does the story have appropriate
sources and documentation? 10
News
judgment
Does the story highlight the
most newsworthy elements? Is
information verified and does
the story provide balance, if
necessary? 10
Overall
impact /
effectiveness
of story as a
whole
Impact of the story taken as a
whole 10
Total 100
Ethics and
Judgment
Major ethical issues can result in
up to 10 lost points. -10
Deadline
Late copy will result in up to 10
lost points. -10

Creativity &
Audience
Up to 5 bonus points for an
especially creative approach or
difficult attempt that works. 5
Mechanics
Spelling, grammar, syntax, word
choice -- errors can result in up
to 5 lost points -5
AP Style
AP Style errors can result in up
to 5 lost points. -5
Factual
Accuracy &
Logical
Holes
Errors of fact or logical holes can
result in up to 5 lost points. -5
Overcoming
obstacles
Did the student overcome
obstacles? Up to 5 extra points. 5
Assignment
Did the student follow
directions? Can result in loss of
up to 5 points. -5
Overall
grade 70

04:567:324, section 04 / Spring 2015
Additional information and policies
We will be using the class Sakai page to distribute additional readings, as they come up,
issue any announcements or changes to the syllabus, track and submit
assignments, etc.
Academic integrity:
The consequences of scholastic dishonesty are very serious. Rutgers’ academic integrity
policy is at http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/.
Multimedia presentations about academic integrity may be found at
http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/douglass/sal/plagiarism/intro.html and
http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_understand_plagiarism_1/0,6622,427064-,00.html
If you are doubtful about any issue related to plagiarism or scholastic dishonesty, please
discuss it with the instructor.
Attendance:
Students are expected to attend all classes; if you expect to miss one or two classes,
please use the University absence reporting website - https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ - to
indicate the date and reason for your absence. An email will automatically be sent to me
from this system. Note that if you must miss classes for longer than one week, you should
contact a dean of students to help verify your circumstances.
It is University policy (University Regulation on Attendance, Book 2, 2.47B, formerly
60.14f) to excuse without penalty students who are absent from class because of religious
observance, and to allow the make-up of work missed because of such absence.
Examinations and special required out-of-class activities shall ordinarily not be scheduled
on those days when religiously observant students refrain from participating in secular
activities. Absences for reasons of religious obligation shall not be counted for purposes
of reporting. Students are advised to provide timely notification to instructors about
necessary absences for religious observances and are responsible for making up the work
or exams according to an agreed-upon schedule.
Serving Students with Disabilities
Students with documented disabilities who wish accommodations in this class must do so
through the Rutgers Disabilities Services Office. See http://disabilityservices.rutgers.edu/
for details.
Weather and other Emergencies
The university rarely cancels classes for inclement weather. To check if classes are

cancelled, visit http://campusstatus.rutgers.edu/. You can also try to call (732) 932-7799.
During severe weather conditions, announcements are made over the following radio
stations: WCTC (1450AM), WMGQ (98.3FM), WRSU (88.7FM), WMCA (570AM),
WOR (710AM), WCBS (880AM), WABC (770AM), WBGO (83.3FM), WHWH
(1350AM), WPST (97.5FM), WJLK (1310FM), WMTR (1250AM).

04:567:324, section 04 / Spring 2015
Class schedule and assignments:
 Please stay current with assigned readings and all assignments, whether I mention
them directly or not in class.
 I reserve the right to make changes and alter the schedule as need be during the
semester.
SCHEDULE
Week 1: Jan. 24
 Class expectations and rules, student introductions, etc.
 Explain event coverage story, due by 9 a.m. on Feb. 21 (Options: Attend a city
government or university government meeting or other live event and write a
500-word story. Two extra points on final grade for assignment if you attend a
city government meeting).
 Explain final project -- draft due by 9 a.m. on Apr. 11, final due on May 2.
Class will be broken into teams responsible for a grouping of issue stories.
Stories require at least three interviewed sources; project also includes editing
and development of plan for photos, video and social media.
 Discussion:
 What is news?
 The news story v. the essay
 Ethics in journalism: the checklist
 Ethics group exercise (ungraded)
 Quiz: What is news (participation grade)
 Read for Jan. 31: pp. 168-192 (Inverted Pyramid), 464-490 (Ethics)
Week 2: Jan. 31
 What’s the latest news?
 Discussion:
 Style and writing overview: Explain style sheet, AP Stylebook
 Rules: use said, no first person
 In-class editing test
 The news story: structure, ledes
 Small group exercise: use the information provided to write a lede
(participation grade)
 Assignment 1: What is news? Interview five people about what they expect when
they watch or read the news, what their impressions are of the current news
environment and how they think news reporters can do a better job. Write it as a
500-word news story. Due Feb. 7 by 9 a.m.

 Readings for Feb. 7: pp. 220-244 (Alternatives to the Inverted Pyramid) and 290-
316 (Covering a Beat).
Week 3: Feb. 7
 Writing notes
 Discussion:
 Inverted pyramid v. alternatives
 Nut graphs
 Meeting coverage / beats
 Assignment 2: Police story. Take the notes provided and write a police story that
uses the inverted pyramid and includes strong nut graph(s). Due Feb. 14
 Reminder: Municipal meeting story due Feb. 21 – you should know no later than
Feb. 14 what public meeting you will be attending and have it approved by
professor.
 Readings for Feb. 14: pp. 60-80 (Interviewing) and 332-358 (Police writing)
 Project: Assign members to final project teams.
Week 4: Feb. 14
 In-class: Police story rewrite. Take news story distributed in class and edit it for
clarity, narrative, style, approach, etc. Part of editing grade.
 Discussion:
 Interviewing and use of quotations
 Small group exercise: Interviewing (participation grade)
 Police press releases, police stories – a comparative review
 Reminder: Municipal meeting story due Feb. 21
 Readings for Feb. 21: 82-106 (Handling Quotations) and 316-332 (Speeches,
News Conference and Meetings)
 Project: Assign topics for final project.
Week 5: Feb. 21
 Writing notes
 Guest speaker to be confirmed
 Discussion:
 Meeting/event coverage – review
 Using quotations, cont.
 Assignment 3: Municipal meeting coverage revision, due Mar. 7 by 9 a.m.
 Project: First project meeting – assign roles

04:567:324, section 04 / Spring 2015
Week 6: Feb. 28
 Writing notes
 Discussion:
 Breaking news
 The three F’s: features, futures and follows
 Readings for Mar. 7: 194-218 (Writing to be Read)
 Project: Develop story ideas and assign stories to team members
Week 7: Mar. 7
 Assignment 3, due at the beginning of class.
 Writing notes
 Discussion:
 Telling the story / writing to be read
 The feature approach
 Assignment 4: Arts story. Due Apr. 4 by 9 a.m.
 Project: Short status meeting
**No class on Mar. 14 and Mar. 21/ Spring break**
Week 8: Mar. 28
 In class-editing assignment: Pair off with classmate and interview each other.
Turn in edits to me and provide a copy of edits by the end of the class. Edits will
be graded. Revision of story, based on student and professor edits, will be due
Apr. 11 by 9 a.m.
 Discussion:
 Breaking news
 Arts stories
 Readings for Apr. 4: 146-166 (Numbers)
 Project: Short status meeting

04:567:324, section 04 / Spring 2015
Week 9: Apr. 4
 Writing notes
 Discussion:
 Using documents/reports and numbers
 Web writing / use of social media
 Final Project: Short status meeting
 Reminder: First draft of the final project is due by 9 a.m. on Apr. 11
Week 10: Apr. 11
 Writing notes
 Assignment 4: Arts story rewrite due Apr. 18 by 9 a.m.
 Assignment 5: Reporter’s choice – choose a topic to research/report – at least
three interviewed sources. Write 500- to 750-word story using a format discussed
in class (hard news/inverted pyramid or feature). Due Apr. 25 by 9 a.m.
 Final Project
 Discuss social media and photo video plans
 Update story progress
 Finalize plans
Week 11: Apr. 18
 Writing notes
 Final Project:
 Progress meeting
 Draft of social media and photo/video plans due
 Reporting time
 In-class editing assignment
 Part of the class will be devoted to writing/editing final project.

04:567:324, section 04 / Spring 2015
Week 12: Apr. 25 – There will be no class today. Please remember to upload
Assignment 5: Reporter’s choice. Be sure to also use this time to work on your
final project.
Week 13: May 2
 What did you get out of the course?
 Your final project is due at end of class

Rutgers News Writing Course Covers Journalism Fundamentals

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (17)

Similar to Rutgers News Writing Course Covers Journalism Fundamentals

Similar to Rutgers News Writing Course Covers Journalism Fundamentals (20)

Rutgers News Writing Course Covers Journalism Fundamentals